Drunk-driving teen Ethan Couch plowed into a group of good Samaritans, killed four people, paralyzed a friend and injured at least 11 others, yet got no jail time. The judge who heard testimony that the 16-year-old suffers from an affluent-kid condition dubbed “affluenza” sentenced him to a decade of probation under court monitoring, and a […]
‘Affluenza’ Drunk-Driving Teen Ethan Couch May Still Face Jail Read More »
It’s baaaaack! Only a couple of months after being seized and shut down by FBI cyber-agents, the drug-peddling site Silk Road is up and running again on that hidden section of the Internet known as the Deep Web. The original founder of this infamous virtual trading post, Ross William Ulbricht, is still tucked safely behind
Silk Road Returns to Bedevil Law Enforcement Read More »
This post has been updated to reflect the latest developments in the criminal case against Aaron Hernandez. The powerful street drug PCP, largely unheard of since its violent heyday in the 1970s, may go higher profile as the saga of former New England Patriots star Aaron Hernandez continues to unfold. Hernandez, already charged with murder
Opioid dependence is the term used to describe a reliance on the effects of opioid drugs or medications. In some cases, dependent people go on to develop the drug cravings and dysfunctional behaviors associated with opioid addiction. Opioid-dependent people often use cannabis in the form of marijuana, hashish or hashish oil. In a study published
Does Cannabis Use Change Outcome of Opioid Dependence Treatment? Read More »
Cigarette smoking is responsible for approximately one in every five deaths in the U.S., taking the lives of over 440,000 people per year, according to the CDC. That’s why any intervention that aims to reduce the huge morbidity and mortality associated with smoking is such a potential boon for public health. If it can do
Quitting Smoking With Lasers: Too Good to Be True? Read More »
Toronto Mayor Rob Ford’s been the pie-faced punch line since his blustery denials of drug use were disputed by video of him smoking crack. TV’s Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, on the eve of the Thanksgiving Macy’s Parade, even joked that the portly Ford does helium benders.
Television ads don’t do the holidays justice when it comes to healthy eating at Thanksgiving – and Christmas and New Year’s. The image of a plump Thanksgiving turkey on a banquet table filled to overflowing may serve as a trigger to over-prepare high-fat, high-sugar foods and overeat at the table.
Hold the Extra Drumstick – Eat Mindfully This Thanksgiving Read More »
Fifteen million people have watched the video makeover of Jim Wolf, from scruffy homeless veteran to well-groomed man in a suit. In 2 minutes and 50 seconds, a time-lapse transformation emerges of a fashionably bearded man ready for work. Wolf felt grateful, his sister said, for the global attention that drew atta-boys and job offers;
Homeless Veteran’s Makeover Leaves Addiction Intact Read More »
The neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) in the East Tennessee Children’s Hospital in Knoxville is busy this year. Every day, there are more than a dozen babies born who are hooked on painkillers and other drugs. It’s an alarming trend that has health officials worried. They’re calling it an “epidemic” that could become commonplace across
Number of Painkiller-Addicted Newborns Soars Read More »
To the citizens of Toronto, Mayor Rob Ford has these re-assuring words: “Yes, I have smoked crack cocaine. But … do I? Am I an addict? No.” The allegations had been floating around for months, but Ford admitted it early in November, claiming he smoked crack about a year ago in a “drunken stupor.” Ford
‘I’m Not an Addict,’ Says Toronto Mayor Rob Ford Read More »